Stay architecturally enlightened!

WHEN YOUR ABOUT TO GET CANNED

So, I have been working for about 7 months and i think i am really skating on thin ice. I am making mistakes on redlines some of which i am just staring at with my mouth open, my boss's are starting to get a different attitude with me and i'm biting my nails pretty much. Is there anything i can do to not be so....duh.....??!! I am hating myself here and hanging on by threads............ :(

Can you approach one of your bosses, let him/her know that you want to do better and ask for their feedback or help in terms of how to improve? At least that will communicate that you want to do well and improve, and at best, maybe they'll be able to share some of their hard-won wisdom or point you towards some tips or resources.

first of all, slow down. do the work you're doing, then look at the redlines/look at the monitor and double check that you've picked everything up.

second, get a highlighter. once you've accomplished the redline revision, highlight it.

if you still fall short of perfect (which sometimes happens), review your own work. once you've completed whatever you're doing, print it out, get a highlighter with a different color, and review everything. look at walls and wall tags and dimensions and all that, then highlight what you reviewed. when you're done reviewing, if there is something not highlighted, that means you didn't review it. so, review and highlight

Advice above is all good. Another suggestion: Have a pad and pen, and write everything down that you're supposed to do. Write down what the task is, when it was assigned, and when it should be done by. Do this unfailingly, no matter how simple the task seems.

I've had too many employees who say "I don't need to write this down, I have a great memory." Only to have them consistently forget 1 out of 4 tasks.

As curtkram says, you need to learn to check your own work before you submit it to your boss (not always possible if he/she walks over to your desk before you're ready). I've been doing this for many years, and I still triple check my own work - I assume I've made a dumb mistake somewhere (and often I have...but I catch it before it goes out). And I don't mean a quick glance at the drawing sheet, I mean checking each completed red line against what you drew to make sure you got it right.

write everything down that you're supposed to do. Write down what the task is, when it was assigned, and when it should be done by. Do this unfailingly, no matter how simple the task seems

I did this today and it is having a great effect on me. By writing things down it kills the object of remembering details and the guess work out of trying to figure out what a particular redline is showing me. All the above comments are great and THANX for your help.

Also I bought the revit kid's Bim after dark,which is a great source to use revit and prezi on presentations and such if any of the above posters would like some free videos on revit and such shoot me your email address and i will send them to you.

Nice job MyDream...but keep it up...forever. Don't do it 4 days a week, or for 2 weeks and then figure out you've got the hang of things...forever. No matter how smart you are, there's no substitute for having a written task list.

It's great you're looking to improve your Revit/Prezi skills, but don't skip the basics. As several posters have mentioned, use highlighting, checking your own work before telling the boss you're done, etc. Get those basics perfect, and keep them perfect...forever This isn't a one day exercise, it's an ongoing process.

I also agree w/ a prior poster who recommended you talk to your boss about this...he/she will appreciate that you're aware of your shortcomings, are working to correct them, and are seeking their advice. And follow up on that conversation - not every day, but maybe after a couple of weeks, check in to see if the boss feels you're doing better. Trust me, they'll appreciate it.

I personally like to use lots of post-it notes to keep track of tasks, but to each their own. I must say that it is a breath of fresh air to see a forum topic like this instead of the usual "I don't know where I should apply to grad school" or "I can't find a job anywhere, help me". It's difficult to realize when you are job hunting, but once you get that job you are in no position to get complacent. The working world is competitive and I would love to see more posts on here about techniques and tricks to improve your skills at work.

Thanx for your advice it has been very helpful. I agree that there should be more posts about work and how to keep your job if you are lucky enough to find one. taking this as a ongoing process as bklyntotfc mentioned is the right way to go about this. I was going to start working on life safety plans (egress door capacities and occupant load an such) at least the stuff about them that i don't know, but I am going to stick with catching all of the redines the first time I get them.

Another thing that might help you is to start making checklists of each type of information should be on each sheet type and each drawing type (example: door tags on plan drawing) so when you are doing the drawing its faster to do it and more complete.

I just bought the book "Architectural Working Drawings" by Wakita, Bakhoum Linde. I've been working for several years and feel that I've never been given proper instruction on construction documents so I found some books to help me out. The previous posters have EXCELLENT ideas, but I also got the impression that you're not feeling very knowledgeable about what you're doing, so I thought this book might help out. You may find out that you're working full time and spending most of your free time learning what you need to in order to keep your job.

It's great that you're aware of the attitude of your co-workers and you're willing to do what you can to make things better. Keep up that attitude to always try to learn and you'll be ok.